LV= Trustee Investment Plan makes smoothed funds more accessible to pension investors

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LV= Trustee Investment Plan makes smoothed funds more accessible to pension investors

19/10/2020
RETIREMENT
  • New investment will enable advised customers to hold LV=’s Smoothed Managed funds in SIPPs and SSASs

Savings and retirement specialist LV= is launching a Trustee Investment Plan giving pension savers wider access to its range of smoothed managed investment funds.

The LV= Trustee Investment Plan (TIP) - a single-contribution investment policy for Trustees of UK registered pensions schemes - will enable plan holders to invest in LV’s Smoothed Managed funds using Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPP) or Small Self-Administered Schemes (SSAS).

Pension savers were previously able to access the Smoothed Managed Funds exclusively through an LV= pension.

LV= has also made enhancements to the smoothing mechanism on the new TIP version of its funds to reduce the impact of short-term market volatility from the point of investment. For TIPs, the smoothing mechanism – which works by averaging the daily underlying price of investments over the previous six months – will now start from the second day of investment and gradually build up to an average of the previous six months of underlying fund prices. Previously, the smoothing mechanism began after the investment had been held for six months.

LV=’s Smoothed Managed Funds are designed to help deliver low-volatility returns for risk-sensitive clients. They are most suitable for more cautious investors with a ‘low’ to ‘low-medium’ risk profile. These are likely to be clients that are nearing, or in retirement with a decreasing capacity for loss, looking to balance growth potential with limiting downside risk.

They funds are managed by Columbia Threadneedle Investments. There are three options: Cautious, Balanced and Growth, which are risk rated as 3, 4 and 5 respectively by Defaqto & Dynamic Planner.

Savers can make regular monthly, quarterly biannual or annual withdrawals with no minimum withdrawal amount set amount. The minimum initial investment for opening an LV= TIP is £20,000 and the maximum investment permitted is £1,000,000.

The LV= TIP has no fixed term, but is designed to deliver growth over a long-term period of at least five years. The Cautious fund also includes an optional 10 year capital guarantee.

“The steep falls and fluctuations in investments markets will have unnerved many investors this year. LV=’s Smoothed Managed Funds can be an invaluable component in retirement planning, as our unique smoothing mechanism has withstood market volatility for over ten years. Our new Trustee Investment Plan is a significant development because it means the funds can be held as an asset of any SIPP or SSAS.


Recent LV= research found that twice as many affluent savers are worried about the volatility of the stock market compared to the general public . We’re therefore delighted to be able to make our Smoothed Managed Fund more widely accessible for advisers to build in some volatility protection to a customer’s portfolio. The introduction of gradual smoothing on entry also means that new customers will benefit as they gradually build up their smoothed position right from the start of their investment.”

Clive Bolton, Managing Director of Savings and Retirement at LV=, said:

Notes

Research conducted in September 2020 found that 17% of mass affluent savers are worried about the volatility of the stock market, compared to 8% of the general population.